If you have been following our website or social media pages, you may know that we have been covering a lot of ground regarding suspicious activity and cybercrime over the last year. One tool that we have been enthusiastically covering is TripWire. What is TripWire and how does it work? Let’s take a closer look.
A Closer Look At TripWire
From the time that COVID-19 was first reported in the U.S., commercial forensic groups have been trying to make sense of the massive amount of data collected from different organizations. As more and more organizations become aware of the risks that lie in wait on their networks, cyber forensics has become a major focus. The question is: How can you combat cybercrime if you do not have the technology to properly assess the threats that you face?
One of the technologies that have been developed to help organizations combat cybercrime is TripWire.
TripWire is a next-generation cyber threat analysis and security solution that enables organizations to effectively review and analyze the network traffic that passes through their firewalls. This in itself is not a new concept, as “man in the middle” attacks against organizations have been around for as long as organizations have been using firewalls, but until now, there has never been a solution that allows for real-time analysis and reporting of malicious activity.
TripWire’s main advantage is its speed. Because the platform is hosted in the cloud, it can process large amounts of data in a relatively short amount of time. This means that threats can be analyzed and reported on in near real-time, allowing security professionals to take immediate action.
TripWire also uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify and analyze malicious traffic, making it more effective than traditionally powered scanning tools. Plus, the platform is designed to be flexible, so organizations can quickly adapt it to their specific needs. In fact, TripWire was designed with the IT audit and cybersecurity staff in mind, so that they can have a simple yet effective way to identify threats and vulnerabilities.
How Does TripWire Work?
TripWire is a web-based system, so all that is needed is a modern browser and an Internet connection.
This is different from other cyber threat analysis products, which often require a significant amount of setup and configuration before use. The platform integrates with your existing security software, such as FortiGuard Labs, Cisco ASA, or Netscaler. This means that after you have installed TripWire and connected it to your network, you do not need to worry about setting up and configuring a new security product to work with it.
This can be a major time-saver, as most cyber security products require a lot of configuration and testing before use, making deployments a major pain point for firms.
Once you have connected your security software to the TripWire platform, you can begin analyzing network traffic and identifying potential threats. To start, you will need to create an “agent”, which is a user account that can be used by your team or individuals responsible for identifying cyber threats. This account will be used by the AI engine that guides your analysis during the “scan” phase. You can give this account any level of access that you deem necessary, from simply allowing it access to your network through a firewall device to giving it full control over your entire security infrastructure.
Now that your agent account is set up, you can begin the “scan” phase of TripWire. During this phase, all network traffic that travels through your security software (e.g., firewall) will be scanned for any signs of malicious activity. When this happens, it is as if a digital forensic team has been deployed at your doorstep, examining every piece of data and activity that passes through your firewall and reporting back to you in real-time.
When malicious activity is detected, you will be presented with a dashboard that shows you everything that was identified. From here, you can take measures to remediate the threat or issue, such as blocking the attack vector, deleting malicious files, or changing account credentials.
As you can see, TripWire is a very visual tool that makes identifying and dealing with threats very straightforward. Additionally, since the platform is deployed in the cloud, any changes or upgrades can be easily addressed and updated. This is a big plus when it comes to keeping your security team up-to-date with the latest threats and defenses.
Are There Any Drawbacks To TripWire?
Like any other tool that you might encounter, there are some disadvantages to using TripWire. First, like any other tool, it is far from perfect and has its limitations. As part of a larger team of cybersecurity professionals, you are likely to encounter different network traffic patterns that can throw off a scan. For example, if you are seeing a high volume of DNS queries or HTTP requests, it could mean that a scan might flag a small number of these as malicious, when in reality, they are quite normal and perfectly benign. This is why it is important to perform a detailed analysis of the behavior of these network elements and look for signs of maliciousness beyond simply matching a signature or rule.
Additionally, since this solution is designed for use by network administrators and security experts, it can be a bit overwhelming for someone who is not used to thinking about security in terms of network traffic analysis. This is why we recommend using tools for which there are specific user-friendly user experiences, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel or use a black box solution.
We hope that this article has helped you understand what is TripWire and how does it work. We would love to hear your thoughts and comments, so feel free to reach out to us via email or on social media.